Two 230-Metre Residential Towers Could Become the Tallest Buildings in the Netherlands
Two 230-metre residential towers next to Den Haag Centraal would deliver over 1,000 homes and become the tallest buildings in the Netherlands, though not without concerns.
A new proposal for the Bellevue site next to Den Haag Centraal station involves two residential towers standing 230 metres tall. If built, they would rank among the tallest buildings in the Netherlands, surpassing Rotterdam's Zalmhaven tower at 215 metres. The plan was presented to local residents in late March and is now being developed toward a planning permit application later this year.
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Who is behind it
The project is being developed by RED Company in partnership with investor Patrizia, housing corporation Staedion and Bellevue CS The Hague. Architecture firms MVSA Architects and Powerhouse Company are designing the towers. Three variants for the crowning design of the two towers were presented to residents at a participation meeting, who were invited to give their feedback.
The exact height has not yet been fixed. "That is the scale of the maquette we showed last week. It can work on this location," said architect Nanne de Ru of Powerhouse Company.
What the plan involves
The Bellevue site sits between the Rijnstraat, the Bezuidenhoutseweg and the Oranjebuitensingel, a short walk from Den Haag Centraal, the city centre and the Haagse Bos. The site currently holds a collection of office buildings from the 1970s and 1980s, which would largely be demolished to make way for a much larger development: two slim towers on a shared base containing offices and commercial functions.
More than 1,000 homes are planned across social housing, mid-market rental and private sector segments. A nineteenth-century facade on the Oranjebuitensingel will be incorporated into the new design. The towers will feature a strong vertical design, and their crowns will grow organically from the towers rather than sitting separately on top.
The developer intends to submit a planning permit application before the end of 2026. If approved, construction could begin around 2029 and take approximately three years, with completion around 2032.
The housing urgency behind it
Den Haag faces a severe housing shortage. The average waiting time for a social housing property in the city has risen to six to seven years. Every new development of any scale is required to contain at least 30 percent social housing.
The Bellevue project is part of a broader push in the city to build at significant height near its main stations. Elsewhere in the city, the Escher Gardens project near Hollands Spoor has already received full council approval for two towers of around 160 metres, delivering 1,250 homes. The Bellevue proposal would go significantly further still.
The concerns
Residents are not uniformly enthusiastic. Some describe the plan as "megalomaniac," objecting to the height, mass and pace of change. Specific concerns include the absence of green space, the lack of facilities such as a primary school, and parking. The area already has significant traffic pressure from its location next to the central station.
De Ru said the ground-level design would address many of these concerns. "I actually do not find the height so exciting," he said. "For the experience of the building, the plinth is far more important, and that will be very good. We seek a connection with the surroundings, including the postmodern architecture of De Resident. This will be cool and epic."
